All players have different swings and control of the racket although the swing fundamentals are the same. The intent is to make as square an impact with the ball as possible with the ball impacting as close as possible to the center of the tennis racket head known as the "sweet spot". But, size, weight, height, strength and other physical factors cause different players to alter the fundamental swing slightly causing "miss-hits" which in turn cause errors in the flight of the ball. A miss-hit, such as contacting the ball near the frame of the racket, will cause the ball to go in the direction different than where it is intended when the player swings.
The above problems can be caused not by a defect in the racket which certainly can contribute to the problem but any minor defect in the players swing. Thus even though the players swing appears to be fundamentally sound even a slightly off line swing, due to for example a weakness in a wrist, forearm, legs or whatever can cause a miss-hit.
It has been found that a player who has a swing that is close to fundamentally sound can improve their swing by slightly changing the balance of the racket head. Greater Weight on certain areas of the racket head can increase the force at which the player can hit the ball. Thus, even the best players can benefit from variations or increases of the weight of the tennis racket head.
When a tennis player strikes the ball he seeks to achieve as much control as possible with the greatest force applied to the ball. This occurs when the ball is struck at a position on the strings known as the "sweet spot" which is the central area of the strings. Also, a player attempts to hit the ball squarely with the racket head normal to the direction of flight of the ball. No two players have identical swings and therefore two different players may swing slightly different with the same racket. Further, since the tennis racket weight and overall structure is fixed after its made, the only way to achieve a different arrangement is to obtain a racket having a different weight or weight distribution. It would, however, be advantageous if weights could be easily added at selected points of the racket that would improve a players overall swing. Selected weighting could be used to not only increase the head weight for a more powerful serve but also to correct for imbalances in a players swing.
A small weight or weights added around the perimeter of the frame, forming the tennis racket head, can result in a swing that is normally slightly off the impact center, being now "on" improving accuracy and power which increases the speed and control of the ball. One such method of adding weight is by tape on the inside surface of the frame. However a disadvantage of this method is that it must be done when re-stringing the racket and the weight cannot be repositioned without removing and replacing the strings.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a snap-on weight for tennis rackets that allows a player to vary the weight distribution of a tennis racket. The position of the weight can be changed at will.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a snap-on weight for tennis rackets in which the amount of weight can be easily varied.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a snap-on weight having flanges for quickly and cleanly attaching the weight to the strings of the racket where they attach to the frame of the tennis racket head.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a resilient snap-on weight for tennis rackets that can be used in selected sizes to vary the amount and distribution of weight on the tennis racket head.